“To stimulate friendly rivalry among the women golfers of many lands.”

That’s the essence of the Curtis Cup, donated over a century ago by sisters Margaret and Harriot Curtis. All one had to witness was the first-tee exit by Caley McGinty and Rachel Kuehn. After hitting the fairway with their drives, the opponents chatted all two hundred-fifty yards to their approach shots. If that wasn’t enough, how about Rachel Heck and Megha Ganne, teammates, signing autographs for little fans just seconds before they were introduced? The Curtis sisters are smiling from their place in the afterlife. The tradition they established in 1905 is alive and well, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Singles Matches

Needing only a point and half to retain the cup, following two days of partner matches, Team USA had every right to be confident heading into day three. If you missed how we arrived at this point, you can check out day one and check out day two coverage by clicking those links. Team GBI would not go away quietly, but they needed more horsepower than they brought to Merion.

The Sunday Singles were originally slated to begin around two pm, to take advantage of some primer afternoon television coverage. A wretched weather report compelled a move to a 7:30 start, but at that hour, the rain and the lightning were still in the neighborhood. After three postponements, the first match teed off at 11:15, and to their credit, the 16 ladies sped around the course in record time.

The Blowouts

Rose Zhang and Emilia Migliaccio won their matches on the 13th green, while Emily Price earned the sole GBI point on the 15th green. Zhang led off the day for the Red, White, and Blue, and delivered a series of jabs and uppercuts to Louise Duncan of the Blue and White. Duncan made birdie at the first, but Zhang matched it. The world number one played three-under par golf through 13 holes, and never allowed Duncan to win a single hole. In match six, a similar thing took place. Emilia Migliaccio of the host squad won six holes from, and lost none to, the visitors’ Annabell Fuller. Nearly as precise as Zhang, Migliaccio stood minus-two when the match ended. Team GBI needed Team USA to encounter its share of difficulty, but it did not come to pass.

The bright spot for the losing side was the one match that Team USA didn’t want to lose. Amari Avery came in to the final day with a spotless, 4-0 record. Only three other golfers in the history of the matches had gone 5-0, and none had done so as rookies. Avery came out tentative, and Emily Price was the last golfer she needed to face with that sort of game. Price was two-under par through their 15 holes, and that was enough to deny Avery a fifth point on the week.

The nail-biters

One match ended on the home green, while four others concluded on the penultimate hole. Latanna Stone fought back from a two-hole deficit with six to play. Her opponent, Charlotte Heath, had suffered her share of heartbreak over the previous two days. Despite Stone’s rally, the pair reached the 18th tee all square. Heath made par, but it wasn’t enough. Stone drained a birdie putt at the end of Hogan’s Alley, and won the match outright for the home squad.

Of the four matches that ended at the 17th green, only Megha Ganne won the hole to jump from one up to 2 & 1. Ganne’s par on the extraordinary par-three hole took down a determined Amelia Williamson. Earlier in the day, matches two, three, and four ended on the same putting surface. Rachel Kuehn, Rachel Heck, and Jensen Castle all brought down their opponents (Caley McGinty, Lauren Walsh, and Hannah Darling, respectively) at the green submerged in the famous Merion quarry.

Top Ten Moments of the Week

For the second consecutive, stateside match, Team USA was much stronger than Team GBI. Unlike Quaker Ridge in 2018, Team GBI put up a better fight, and deserved a closer result than 15.5-4.5. Beyond the actual golf, there were a number of memorable moments that I’ll take away from Merion. In no particular order, they were

1. Amy Morton’s smile. Morton is one of the USGA staffers, and she greeted us every day with a smile. She was always available to shuttle the pundits to the bus stop or the feed bag. Thank you, Amy!
2. Julia Pine’s calm. Pine is the director of communications for the USGA, and she never failed to send results, perspective, and the occasional reference from Greek mythology. Like Morton, she supported the journalists and allowed us ease in doing our jobs
3. The Pizza Moment. Simply put, Hannah Darling raced from the 16th tee to the media center for a pit stop and a slice of pizza. She raced back to the fairway, in time to hit her team’s approach over the quarry AND make her partner (Annabell Fuller) jealous. During a post-round interview, Darling gave complete permission to make the Pizza Moment on the record
4. The Food. Somehow, the USGA negotiated clubhouse access for the scribes. In a word: delicious. In another word: ample. Breakfast and lunch were a delight. There was no dinner, but the USGA staff took care of us. The aforementioned pizza, unlimited soft pretzels, I’ll never be the same
5. The Volunteers. In 2009, when I attended the Walker Cup at Merion, media parking was across Cobb’s Creek from the 12th green. It was about a 100-yard stroll to the course. This year, we were re-assigned to nearby Haverford College. I took the bus each day but, in hindsight, could have walked over. Alas. The drivers were patient and gentle. The marshals were well-trained, with the proper amount of intensity. The servers and other staff were polite and gracious. Merion was the essence of a well-oiled machine
6. The Swag. You get some freebies, in addition to the food, in the media center. I now have a deck of Curtis Cup trading cards, three Cup-logoed Taylor Made golf balls, and a bunch of pins. If you’ve ever been a kid, you never get over being a kid who loves free swag
7. The walkabouts. They say that golf courses are never as flat as they appear on television. If Merion appears even remotely flat, it’s not. You have to respect ladies who walk 36 holes of matches for two days, bracketed by a practice round and a singles match. You have to request caddies who do the same, while carrying a fetching but heavy, golf bag. When you are off by yourself, for a morning or evening stroll with only a camera, it’s bliss
8. The banter. As an infrequent resident of the media center, I try to keep a low profile. I listen to the wizened and grizzled reporters for whom this is their livelihood. They drop gems and pearls of wisdom like a bunny drops Easter eggs. I’m grateful to continue learning from them
9. Wake Forest. In this particular Curtis Cup, 1 GBI and 2 USA team members attended (and played for) my college alma mater. Many fans had a connection to the school, and associate Women’s head coach Ryan Potter was resplendent in old gold and black. It was a great week to be a Deac.
10. Hugh Wilson. Alive on this Earth for 46 years, Hugh Wilson laid down the Merion Golf Club’s two courses. His resume includes just three other courses, along with input on a few other, well-known tracts of golfing land. Wilson took only the land that he needed for the East course, and what he created is eternal. From the 1954 Curtis Cup to 2022, to the 2034 and 2046 Women’s Open championships, Merion will provide a venue for the finest female golfers of the day to shine and take their place in history.